Alabama

Scholastic chess players on the lookout for checks, captures and threats during the 2017 Alabama Quick Chess tournament at Samford University on June 24. The tournament featured a section just for the younger players. 90 players competed in the Quick Chess Championship. (Photo: ChessKidsNation)

Scholastic chess players on the lookout for checks, captures and threats during the 2017 Alabama Quick Chess tournament at Samford University on June 24. The tournament featured a section just for the younger players. 90 players competed in the Quick Chess Championship. (Photo: ChessKidsNation)

Who is the fastest chess player in Alabama? That question was settled for now with the 2017 Alabama Quick & Blitz Chess Championship held on June 24 at Samford University. Adult and scholastic chess players from all over the state competed for top honors of being the best at "quick" and "blitz" chess.

Scott Varagona, a former state champion, came very close to repeating his double victory from last year's event. This year he took clear first place at the Quick Championship tournament with a commanding 4.5 out of five rounds and a $175 prize.

The Blitz Championship tournament featured a much faster time control. Both Varagona and Stephen Graveling, a young, rising chess expert, scored 5 points out of six rounds. Graveling won the Blitz Champion title and trophy based on tiebreaks.

Times controls were faster than normal tournament chess. In the Quick tournament each player is allotted 25 minutes (with a 3 second delay) apiece for the entire game. In the Blitz tournament each player has only 8 minutes (with a 2 second delay) apiece for the whole game.

"We thank Alabama Chess Federation and Samford University for all their support in promoting chess in our state," tournament director Balagee Govindan said.

United States Chess Master Arden Markin. 14-year-old Markin, who lives in Tuscaloosa, is the first K-12 Alabama student to be rated a master in almost two decades. His goal is become an international grandmaster. (Photo: Chuck Markin)

Congratulations to 14-year-old Arden Markin who has officially earned his United States Chess Federation Master rating!

Arden is the first K-12 Alabama chess player to become a rated master in almost two decades. He lives is Tuscaloosa and was taught how to play chess by his father.

I have previously written a column on Arden and his chess ambitions. His goal is to become an international grandmaster. With his natural talent and the hard work he puts into the game, Arden may achieve his dream in the not too distant future!

July 17-21, ChessKidsNation Sixth Annual Summer Chess Camp. 1837 Montgomery Highway, Suite 111, Hoover. Chess coaches: Scott Varagona, Michael Ciamarra, Frank Johnson, Tejas Thorat and Denker Tournament of High School Champions for Alabama Vikhram Balagee. One of the top chess camps in Alabama for young chess players who are really serious about improving their game. For more information call ChessKidsNation (205) 421-1523 or email: Contact@ChessKidsNation.com.

The Birmingham Chess Club meets every Tuesday, 7 p.m., in Room 458, UAB's Campbell Hall, 1300 University Blvd., Birmingham. Free. All are welcomed.

World chess

The Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour concludes today in Leuven, Belgium. The second stage of the 2017 Grand Chess Tour included World Champion Magnus Carlsen, US Chess Champion Wesley So and among other world elite grandmasters who competed for a $150,000 prize fund. The tournament featured 9 rounds of rapid chess (25 minutes with a 10-second delay) and 18 rounds of blitz (5 minutes with a 3-second delay). You can download and replay the games for free. Carlsen took first place by 3 points ahead of the rest of the field followed by Wesley So in second.

The 2017 Grand Chess Tour is a series of five chess tournaments across the globe. The next stop is the Sinquefield Cup, July 31-August 12, for $300,000 prize fund followed by the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, August 13 - August 20, for a $150,000 prize fund. Both tournaments will be held in Saint Louis.

Half time - top game pick

With the first half of 2017 over, it's time for our pick of the best game so far this year. Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan's win versus IM Borya Ider (Gibraltar Masters) has captured the imagination of chess fans worldwide.

Women's World Chess Champion 23-year-old Hou Yifan, China, playing IM Borya Ider during Round 7 of the 2017 Gibraltar Masters. Yifan's imaginative, dynamic sacrificial play in this game is our top pick for the first half of 2017. (Photo: John Saunders, GibraltarChess)

The 23-year-old Yifan sacrificed her Queen for two minor pieces in a style reminiscent of two Soviet masters of long ago, GM David Bronstein and IM Rashid Nezhmetdinov. Both had a knack for playing games with similar material imbalances and are models for attacking play.

Hou Yifan credited her opponent for defending well up to a point. Even with stout defense she believed her active pieces and initiative would be enough to win. Enjoy this amazing game.

Your Move! Keller - Jaser, Correspondence 1976-78. White to move and win. Because of the amount of time one could use to analyze moves, the general misconception of the old form of chess games by mail was that they tended to be long, drawn out positional battles. While true sometimes, it was not always the case. Remarkably, some of the sharpest, tactical games on record were played in postal tournaments. Nowadays, 'postal' chess has been replaced with the email format and one can consult with a chess computer program. In this peculiar position, White has two queens but both are under attack. White times everything just right to force resignation in short order!